As I sit in my office, I hear the banging sound of debris being dropped into dumpsters about a block away. It is debris from a building being demolished. The scene is the sign of the end of a several year project which was not brought to completion. A two-story apartment building had been barged and then trucked to where it was placed on a raised foundation that would have accommodated even more apartment space below it. However, after the expense of moving it, placing it on property provided by the city, and then raising it up, the organization behind the project did not yet have the funds to finish the work. After a failure to secure interest in the work and ultimately someone to purchase the structure and complete the project for housing, the city ended up paying to have the structure demolished. I’m not sure what the total cost of all this has added up to, but in the end, it was all spent with the result of nothing.
As in construction projects the cost needs to be considered, even more so is this the case when we consider the building of a life. In our connection with Jesus, though He paid the price for our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19), we are called to consider the cost of being His disciple.
In this regard Jesus taught. . .
“(27) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (31) Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27-33 ESV)
The caution is not to discourage following, but to aid in recognizing following Jesus needs to not be a flippant decision, but one made with an acknowledgement of the seriousness in which following Him needs to be considered. However, as we weigh the blessings both presently and eternally associated with being a disciple of Jesus, we should come to the conclusion our connection with Him is worth whatever else might be given up in the process. As this was where Paul’s own focus came to rest (Philippians 3:8-9), we can understand how he maintained a resolve to continue in service to the Lord despite the challenges he faced.
If Jesus is to be Lord at all, He must be allowed to be the Lord of all our life. In acknowledging His Lordship over us, it will bring the other aspects of our life in line with glorifying Him. Making Christ our everything will mean our life will not be for nothing! May we, therefore, continue looking to the Lord for the strength and resolve necessary for being His disciple from start to finish.
Have a great day ACKNOWLEDGING THE GREATER VALUE IN FOLLOWING CHRIST!
Carl
